Can You Hear Me?
by Sukaretto Yuki
Summary: Temari is the eldest child of three, but in a hard economic world she lives alone with her father, until he grants one of her greatest wishes. Tuition to S.B.S, on a tiny island half way around the world. So.. what could possibly go wrong? FULL SUM INSIDE
1. Preface and Summary

**A/N: So I originally started writing this fanfiction when I was twelve. The first chapter or so was written a LONG time ago and originally had myself as the main character. I realized now I had no intention of finishing it like a real novel so I have adjusted for fanfiction pleasure :D Enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Summary One:<strong>

Temari is the eldest child of three but in a hard economic world she lives alone with her father and dog. That is, until he grants one of her greatest wishes, to have a good education, so she's not stuck a small town girl. She has paid tuition to Sakura Boarding School on a tiny island half way around the world. So.. what could possibly go wrong?

He sought revenge.. revenge for the pain and horror that was unjustly forced upon him. He would destroy their sanity.. as well as their lives.. as they had done to him. This world is but a game. A game of betrayal.. a game we've all played. The rules.. trust no one, betray anyone and win at whatever the cost.. will you follow them? Even when the prize is your life.

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><p><strong>Preface:<strong>

I felt like I was trapped in one of those terrifying nightmares, the kind where you have to run, run until your legs give way and your throat burns with every breath you take. It seemed as if I was running through waist deep mud, and I couldn't run fast enough. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if I didn't make it there in time. The only difference between those nightmares and this is that this…this was real. And it was my fault; I got us trapped here in the first place. I kept asking myself why I did all this. Why did I fall in love?

To fail here, if we could not help each other through this, would mean death; and it would be a horrible, tortured death. If you have friends like mine, best friends, some of them who've been there since you were children; would you really want to see them die a prolonged, painful death before your eyes? My life is just one of the many things I'll lose if I can't make it, although if I knew it could save the rest of them, I would willingly give my life. I can't leave them all in this place.

In Hell.


	2. Happy Birthday

**A/N: ****Yes, I'm one of those authors who likes to leave notes and address readers. ****I hope you enjoy the story and I apologize if Temari appears a little bit OOC. This story will take me a little longer to update as it's not written quite the same as my other stories (meaning I actually have a plot line to worry about, my others are more open to change if I make a plot mistake). Enjoy! :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Happy Birthday<strong>

I woke up at ten o'clock, as usual, tired and sleepy eyed. Today, although I regret to say it, is the last day of summer and the holidays. Tomorrow is when I officially receive my belated birthday present from my father. Dad promised he would tell me what the present is today though. I hope it's something I can actually use; one year he gave me diapers for some dolls I had thrown out when I was five, and I was turning twelve at the time. He never was particularily could with gifts for me, probably because he's still not used to girls. This year I finally turned fifteen, I was going to be completely me from now on. No secrets or masks. I wanted something to show that, something to show that I was growing up.

I looked around my room at pictures hanging on my wall. Some held images of my mom, some of my two younger brothers. It had been a long time since I saw them; besides my mother being dead, none of them live with me. It's just my dog Hitami, my dad and I. Then I looked up at my ceiling, and looking at all of my drawings and the anime posters I had taped up there. I grinned at the big one in the middle that had one of my original characters saying "Believe it!" with another, a boy with a ponytail, in the background saying "Troublesome". After five minutes of debating on whether or not I should move, I slowly got up out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I looked at myself in the mirror; not understanding why some people thought I was pretty. With my long, dirty blond hair, and freckles I thought I was pretty normal. It's not like I was super model skinny…but I definitely wasn't fat either. I sighed softly.

I decided that I would make dad coffee and wake him up early so he could spill the news on my present. He always loved to give me presents and, even though I don't usually like them, I always put on an act so that I won't hurt his feelings. After the coffee finished, I walked to his room.

"Dad..? Dad? Come on, wake up already! I made you coffee." I whispered while shaking his shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, thank you sweetie. Can you give me a minute to wake up? Then I'll tell you about your present, ok?" He moaned in a tired weak voice

"Sure thing. But…dad? Are you ok? You sound like you've been up all night with the flu." I asked, trying to hide the worry I was feeling. I looked into the face that looked so much like mine, he was a very handsome man, though the dark circles under his eyes gave away how ill he really was.

"Yah, I'm fine. I'm just getting a bit of a cold. I will be right back." He said. I snuggled into the chair beside the night table in his bedroom, anxiously waiting to hear what my present was. I pulled his Senators blanket over me to keep warm while he got ready. He seemed to take forever getting ready; it took him exactly thirty-two minutes. I grinned approvingly as he walked into the room cleanly shaven, looking and smelling like a rose.

"Sorry Temari, I decided to take a shower. I felt icky and dirty when I got up this morning!" He chuckled as I wrinkled my nose. Sometimes, I couldn't tell who was the parent and who was the irresponsible teenager. He acted like such a child sometimes.

" It's ok. No problem. So are you going to tell me my present or what?" I asked impatiently, I had been waiting all summer to find out.

"Well, Temari, you're not going to believe this! I saved up enough money to get you a spot in Sakura boarding school! There were only a couple of spaces left, but your friends Tenten and Ino got in too." He grinned as if he had just won a medal. Tenten and Ino are my best friends from my last school.

"Umm... did you say boarding school! I know I said I wanted a good education, but what about you? I can't leave my nitwit, scatterbrained father here to fend for himself! No way!" I practically screamed at him. How could he honestly expect me to go anywhere without him? He already had to send Gaara and Kankuro away because he couldn't handle taking care of all of us, I couldn't trust him to take care of himself.

"Come on! You know I just got promoted. I'll be fine; besides this is the best school that we can afford in the next ten years and the money is non-refundable. Your first day is tomorrow and I need you to try on your new uniform to see if I need to tailor it for you, ok?" He asked as his eyes twinkled knowing I'd forgive him for it soon enough.

"If you're sure you'll be fine and the money is non-refundable, then . . . I guess I'll just have to go . .," I hesitated before jumping on him. "THANK YOU! This is the best! But promise me that you will find a way that I can come home and visit on ALL holidays, ok?" He rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Yah, yah. Just go try on your uniform. It's in a box on your bed; put on the shoes and the ribbon as well. I want to take a picture of you in it to give to your grandparents back in Hamilton. They have really missed you, so if you want to you can spend March break there." He said in his 'grown up' voice.

"Ok, let me go get changed already." I whined, anxious to see my uniform. Something about the ribbons made me really nervous, I hoped it wasn't too girly.

I ran to my room and there right on my blue, fuzzy pillow was a box decorated with a cherry blossom with a big green leaf and a tied pink ribbon. I figured this had to be the school's logo. I sat down on my sailor bed and picked up the box, which was surprisingly heavy for such a small box. I slid off the ribbon and opened the lid to find many pieces of clothing and two pairs of shoes. One pair of shoes was a pair of gym sneakers, plain white with the same pink in the logo for laces, while the other pair were dress shoes, white with a sparkling pink flower at the ankle. They had two centimeter platforms and a thin buckle across the center to do them up.

"So I was right.. they are girly." I sighed as I looked at the shoes with slight distaste. Oh well, I would have to make do.

On the top of the pile of clothes were two Japanese style gym outfits; baggy white t-shirts with what looked like pink bikini bottoms. I wondered briefly if everything was pink and white like the cherry blossom.

Underneath the gym uniforms there were four skirts; two long white skirts that went just past my knees, the pink flower would be in the corner if I put it on. It also had that one-inch elastic around the waist, which was also pink with two pink adjuster strings. The other two skirts looked exactly the same but were shorter; they sat three or four inches above my knee. There were eight pairs of socks, four pinks and four whites. Two of each color sock were ankle socks; I guessed that these were for warmer weather.

There were also two jackets, four shirts and two ties. The jackets were both white with a pocket on each side of the zipper, and they had three pink flowers with leaves in the bottom right corner, one big and two small. At the end of each sleeve was a pink elastic band, similar to the one at the top of the skirts. Both jackets looked the same except that one was more of a sweater while the other was warmer; like a coat with rainproof lining, and both had fuzzy linings. As for the shirts, all four shirts were just plain white with collars; two were t-shirts while the other two were long sleeved. The ties were both plain cherry blossom pink and were both skinny and went down to my waist.

Underneath all the clothes were several pink and white hair elastics, a centimeter thick pink ribbon, and a pink digital watch. The ribbon was long enough to be able to tie up your hair and still have the ribbon go all the way down your back.

I put on the short skirt, dress shoes, pink ankle socks, plain t-shirt with the pink tie and light jacket. I decided to put my hair into my usual four spiky ponytails using the pink ribbon, after I cut it up, and hair elastics, leaving a few strands out front for my bangs. I went back into the bathroom and put on a little brick rose blush, mascara and black eyeliner. Then I ran back to my room to put on the watch. I hoped I looked ok but either way I was ready. I went and knocked on my dad's bedroom door.

"Dad? Can I come in, I'm wearing my uniform."

"Come in . . . aw! You look gorgeous, Temari. Pose for the camera! Good, I'll send this to grandma and it doesn't look like you will need your clothes tailored." He looked at me appraisingly, I could see pride in his blue eyes "I see you put on some make up. If you want, I have some of the make up you used right now and more put away in a spare bag in the closet if you want to take it with you. Also, tonight, after you pack, we are going to have a girl's night. We can watch House Bunny and eat junk food. I'll paint your nails pink to match your uniform! Ok?" He asked excitedly. I blanched immediately and he chuckled. I knew he was joking but the idea alone was a scary one.

"Or we could have a video game marathon and we could pig out on junk food while I kick your ass?" I suggested with a smirk.

"Hehehe... We'll see about that." He chuckled, a guilty smile playing across his face.

"Young man! You are not supposed to be wasting your life away playing video games. Go make something of yourself and do your work! If I find out you're goofing off while I'm gone I will come straight home!" I threatened, trying to make my face look as grown up and threatening as possible.

"Yes, mom, I'm SO sorry! I won't beat you at your own game without your permission." He laughed.

"You better not, or you are grounded for two weeks young man!" I answered, eyes twinkling mischeviously as I got ready for the video game showdown of a lifetime.

So I packed the make up, my swimsuit, all the clothes in that box, some pajamas and lounge clothing, and my toiletries. My dad made me pack a couple of pretty outfits as well, saying something about boys. I added a couple of fishnet, fingerless gloves and the odd accessories to wear with my uniform, no way was I going to look like everyone else. I went through my room and packed my sketch books and art supplies like paint, pencils, sharpener, colored string, beads, and paper. I also packed a couple of games to go with my psp, my I-pod, u-s-b flash drive which had movies and documents on it, some jewelry, books, and my ever cherished dance wear; not that I would tell anyone that I danced, everyone who knew me, knew me for my fighting skills.

After I finished all my packing we spent the night pigging out, playing video games, watching movies and by the end of it we both had masks of chocolate icing and enough funny pictures to last a lifetime. I guess it could be called a usual, father/daughter bonding night. We stayed up until ten, at which point I went to bed because I had to get up early to catch my plane to the school the next morning. I wonder who my knew friends will be.. that was the last thought running through my head before I fell asleep.

It was the next morning and I jumped up and hit my head off my headboard as my alarm wailed at me to get up. I didn't quite understand how it could be time to get up already; I felt as though I had just gone to sleep ten minutes ago.

"Oh Damn it!" I screamed after realizing I accidentally hit the snooze so hard I smashed my alarm clock. I looked at my watch.

"Dad!" I hollered, "We're running late. It's already six-thirty-nine! The plane leaves at seven-thirty! Get up!" I continued yelling at him as I grabbed my bath towels and ran to the bathroom to take my morning bath. I grumbled when the phone went off in a shrill, irritating noise.

"Dad! Get the phone!" I yelled, now very annoyed. As I dried my hair with a towel I could hear my dad talking in his room to somebody on the phone.

"Yes. That's not good. Oh, well as long as it isn't too late. Yes. We'll meet you at the airport, yes, thank you. Goodbye." He babbled quietly.

"Who was that? It sounded important." I peered into his room as I pulled on my Fall out Boy sweater over my tank top.

"Well, first off; you shouldn't be eavesdropping. Secondly it was important." He paused in that dramatic way that leaves you wondering what he's going to say, "It was Ino's dad. They're already at the airport and they just found out your plane is late." He finished.

"What! But that means we are going to be late for the tour and finding out who is in our dorm! Exactly how late is it going to be?" I asked, starting to panic.

"Only an hour, not long. You won't miss anything. Don't worry, Inoichi said he will keep us informed if anything happens and when you are done getting ready we will go and meet Tenten, Ino and their families at the airport. So hurry up, just in case the plane still gets there on time."

"Ok, I'm almost done. I just have to find my bank card, wallet and backpack so I have money for food and drinks on the plane. My suitcase is already by the front and I have everything I need. I still have to eat breakfast though." I explained hurriedly. My mind was still racing; what if the plane took even longer than they said?

"I'll make you a bagel with PB and J while you get your _purse_, which is hanging on your dresser by the way. Your bankcard and money are in your wallet, which is on top of the television. Oh, and don't forget your cell phone, you need to be able to call me. It's in the top drawer of the wicker cabinet." He told me, he normally knew where my stuff was when I didn't.

"Thanks!" I paused briefly, "Um, would you mind putting on just jam? I'm wearing some of the good clothes Kankuro got me for my birthday and I don't want to ruin them." I vaguely recalled my birthday when Kankuro, my first younger brother, had given me the clothes. I also considered how I was going to leave him behind too; I had babysat him and he had been a brother and a best friend for a large majority of my life. I realized leaving was going to be harder than I thought.

"Yah, that's fine but hurry up the plane is going to leave in an hour and we still need to double check to make sure you, Ino, and Tenten are sitting together."

"Ok, I'm hurrying." I said as I went to go get my _backpack_. I ran into the kitchen shoved the bagel in my mouth and choked it down, "Ok, let's go!" I said after I swallowed.

After I got all my stuff together we called a cab to take us to the airport, where we met Ino and Tenten. They were waiting in front of the gate that led you onto the airplane. There were about twenty blue plastic chairs nailed to the floor. Ino and Tenten were just taking out phase ten, one of their favourite card games which they had promised they would teach me to play. I grinned and called out to them.

"Hi, guys! How you doing? Sorry we're late"

"That's fine. We haven't been here that long. Oh! I have a couple of small games in my carry-on bag so we will have something to do other than watch television and listen to music on the plane.." Ino grinned.

"Great! Can you guys teach me how to play phase ten on the plane? It's a four and a half hour flight and we'll need something to keep us preoccupied." I nodded towards the deck of cards in Ino's hand.

"Sure. Actually, we can teach you right now if you want we still have a half an hour." I looked at Tenten, smiling. Her dark hair was, as usual, up in two, tidy buns on the sides of her head. I looked at her knee, which was wrapped in a bandage. I guessed that her knee was bothering her again. I tilted my head slightly as I took in her pretty features and giggled as I imagined her as a model walking down the runway in a giant, poofy dress.

"Oh, and Temari? Did you bring your u-s-b drive with your music on it? I asked one of the ladies at the ticket counter and you can use it with the headphones on the plane. Maybe we can figure out how to connect it to all three headphones?" Tenten asked.

"Yah, I brought it and I already know how to connect it to all three headphones. I also put more music on it and the Twilight movie incase you want to watch that." I said in a 'know it all' kind of way, causing them to roll their eyes.

"Cool, come sit down over here and we'll teach you how to play until the plane gets here." Ino said. I grinned at her now, her long blond hair let down. She sat tall in the blue chair, and I shook my head as I considered that when she would get older she would be one of the girls who makes you feel very self conscious when you're around them. Hell, she already was. Both of my friends were some of the greatest people in the world; the kind who would always be there for you and you could trust with anything and everything.

"So what am I going to learn first?" I asked excitedly. It didn't take me long to get confused by the rules of this game, but they were patient with me, answering all the questions I had.

"Ok, I think I get it, but we can't play now, the plane just got here and we need to board so let's go to the gate and say goodbye to our folks." I informed them

"Oh wow! I didn't even realize. That went by quick! Come on, let's go!" Tenten exclaimed, looking surprised by the sudden pass of time. We walked to the gate with our families and said our goodbyes.

"Bye dad! I'll miss you! I'll call you once I'm in my dorm and unpacked, or if there is any news ok?" I whimpered. I was getting angry with myself; I had told myself that I wouldn't cry in front of my friends, even while I was saying goodbye.

"Do you want to sing our song? Please?" He said, I guess he was going to miss tucking me in every night. He really was a big baby.

"Of course!" I grinned, "I love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my daddy bear you'll be." I sang, my voice cracking a little through my tears.

"Not daddy bear. Temari bear." He sang back, chuckling lightly.

"I love you dad, I got to go, bye!" I called over my shoulder as I ran through the gate.

It didn't take long to get past the guards; we just walked through the metal detector and put our bags on the conveyer belt. Then we were on the plane. It was large inside, with lots of people, although there were only a couple of kids, including ourselves. We found our seats and put our bags in the storage compartments over our heads, though I kept my wallet in my pocket for safe keeping.

"Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff." A lady said over the intercom.

"Ino? Tenten? I've never been on a plane before. What if it crashes?" I asked nervously, my voice a little shaky. Normally I acted tough and brave, but these two had known me long enough that I didn't even both hiding my emotions from them anymore.

"It's fine! It's very unlikely for a plane to crash. Just put on your seatbelt and close your eyes. Before you know it we'll be up." Tenten comforted me in that sort of friendly motherly tone. Following her advice, I did up my seat belt, leaned my head on the back of the seat and closed my eyes. It was a little shaky and I heard the plane start up, but for the most part she was right.

"Woah! I barely noticed we took off! Thanks!" I exclaimed cheerfully.

"You're welcome. Do you want a piece of gum? It will help stop your ears from popping." Tenten offered.

"Ya, sure, thank you." I replied, grinning as I took a piece, proud that I wasn't still freaking out.

"Hey, Temari! If you think you can without freaking out again, look out the window. It's an amazing view." Ino said not really focusing on me, but more on the seats. I looked too, ignoring the window for now, noticing that the seats could turn so that you were facing the people behind you. "I wonder who's behind us." she whispered, struggling to look around her seat at the people behind us.

"You can just turn around and ask if you want to know." A girl behind us laughed, "It's not like we'll bite." I turned my chair around to face three chairs behind us to see two girls, about my age, and an empty seat. "Hi, this is _ and my name is Sakura." She smiled, introducing themselves.

"and you can call me Kin, I hate being called _!" Kin said, puffing out her cheeks before holding out her hand. We shook and I smiled, maybe these two would be new friends for me.

"Cool, my name's Temari. Nice ta meet-cha." I laughed. "This is Tenten and Ino, we're all headed out to Sakura boarding school. Where are you guys going?" I asked, curiously, after Ino and Tenten figured out how to turn their seats around.

"Really? Us too! Is this gonna be your first year?" Kin spoke up, excited. I couldn't help but laugh slightly at the irony.

"You are? Awesome! And ya, this is my, well our, first year. Why have you gone before?" I asked excited, sensing friendship and fun from the school already.

"mhmm. This is my third year and Kin's second." Sakura mumbled texting someone. I looked at her wondering who she was talking to.

"Oh, don't mind her. She's probably just texting Sasuke again, he's the son of one of the creepy school counselors. They've had a 'thing' for two years now." Kin giggled, noticing my curiosity.

"Oh, cool?" I laughed at the thought. "Guess I'll get to meet him when we get there."

"You'll like him, he's amazing, almost everybody likes him." Sakura scowled, "Now if only we could Karin to stop liking him.."

"Who's Karin? It doesn't sound like you like her very much.." Ino questioned looking at her new friend with curious but worried eyes.

"She used to be Sakura's best friend, until the girl decided to go become a jealous pshyco bitch when Sakura and Sasuke first got together." Kin, explained, chuckling humourlessly. "Karin started spreading really nasty rumours about Sakura in a pathetic attempt to split them up."

"That sounds like a great way to ruin a friendship." Tenten muttered.

"Oh well, it's her loss, she can go be the head bitch on campus and hang out with the ditsy cheerleaders, I don't care. The friends I have now are better anyway." Sakura said matter of factly before grinning at Kin and giggling.

"Hey! And us! Well, from now on anyway." I grinned at them before my eyes widened, "Hey! If the school has a cheer squad does that mean it has a dance team too?" I asked, my excitement obvious.

"Ya, we have a dance team, but don't waste your time. Unless you become friends with head bitch Karin you'll never make it on the team." A boy with brown hair pulled up in a high spiky pony tail snorted as he sat down beside Kin with a tray of food. He immediately reminded Temari of the OC she created who was always saying things like "troublesome" and "what a drag".

"Wait, why does being her friend make a difference? I'm confused." I asked my brows knitted together as I tried to stick two and two together.

"You're ALWAYS confused." Ino and Tenten laughed. The boy smirked before responding.

"Karin is the captain of the dance team, and unless you're her friend, you'll never make it on the team. That's why all of the good dancer's never make it on the team." He explained sullenly.

"Oh... there goes that dream then." I said pouting before a grin washed away any disappointment. "Then why don't we just make our own team?" I suggested. But after seeing the boy look at Sakura and Kin before shaking his head I could already tell it wouldn't work.

"We've tried that already Temari.. Karin says she's being fair and that there is no need for two teams, the teachers believe her over us." Sakura sighed.

"Damn it! This sucks, we haven't got there yet and I already hate someone!" I cried out in frustration, sighing before looking up. "Do they at least have a wrestling team?"

"Yup, I'm on it. There are mostly boys on the team, but we still have the odd girl." The boy smirked. "Why? You fight?"

"Ya, and I could kick your ass too." I laughed, the new information cheering me up. "So, who are you anyways?"

"Me?" He said.

"Well no shit shirlock, who else is there here who she hasn't been introduced to yet." Sakura rolled her eyes. "This lazy bum over here is Shikamaru."

"Hmmmph, troublesome girls.." Shikamaru mutter before smiling and putting his hand up for a fist bump, which I returned.

"Nice ta meet-cha Shikamaru." I said before sticking my tongue out at Sakura. "He doesn't look that lazy if he's getting you two your food." I laughed as she looked up with a small guilty smile at Shikamaru who rolled his eyes and offered Ino, Tenten and I some before he started eating some of the assorted foods he had bought.

For the rest of our flight, we argued over which bands were better, and who came from where. We bounced questions back and forth like "What's your favourite colour?" and "What do you think is the best quality in a boy?" to which Shikamaru responded to with a snort before listening to music. I stole of one of his head phones later - when Ino, Kin and Sakura (Tenten was watching a movie on her laptop) got into a conversation about "Team Edward" versus "Team Jacob" - and we listened to 'Escape the Fate' for a while before I fell asleep, thinking this was going to be one hell of a year.


End file.
